A screenshot of a video, confirmed by LADE, shows Hezbollah polling workers putting ballots in envelopes. In all voting areas, from polling stations abroad to those in Lebanon, upon voting, the voter places their ballot in an envelope, which cannot be sealed, before placing their ballot in a box. (Credit: Screenshot of video posted by LADE)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections noted numerous election violations across the country before and after polls closed Sunday night.
A video surfaced after polls closed showing, according to LADE, Hezbollah delegates placing ballots in envelopes at a polling station in the Hermel sub-district of Bekaa III during the vote counting process. Aly Sleem, executive director of LADE, confirmed the veracity of the video to L’Orient Today and said ballot slips after counting should not be returned to the envelopes. He added that party delegates have no right to count votes, only observe the vote-counting process.
As soon as the polls closed at 7 p.m., five of the association’s observers were prevented from observing the first round of counting inside polling stations in Haret Hreik, Mazboud and Zrariyeh. LADE demanded the Interior Ministry facilitate the work of its observers. In a comment to L’Orient Today, LADE said some places allowed observers back in, while others did not, without specifying in which areas.
An elderly woman (on the left of the voting box) votes as a polling worker associated with Hezbollah is seen behind the box, stating she is helping the woman due to her age. However, Sylvana Lakkis, president of the Lebanese Union for People with Disabilities said that people with disabilities who are carried or helped though the voting process are sometimes taken advantage by party volunteers who may try to influence their voting intentions. (Credit: Caroline Hayek/OLJ)
Many violations were committed in the last three hours of voting and as counting began by members of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, who “surrounded the tent of the ‘Together for Change’ list” and then attacked a Megaphone videographer, Hussein Basal, for filming this form of intimation at the polling station in Nabatieh. The Alternative Press Syndicate condemned the attack “after documenting irregularities during the voting process in the town of Ansar in the south.”
Other irregularities recorded on Sunday included delegates of the Amal Movement at a polling station in Ibl al-Saqi in the Marjayoun sub-district of South III, who temporarily assumed the role of poll workers.
One of the most flagrant violations recorded was that of voters photographing their ballots. LADE specifically called out President Michel Aoun’s daughter, Claudine Aoun Roukoz, in a tweet for taking such a photograph. Aoun Roukoz was quick to respond, saying the Interior Ministry should place posters at polling stations to inform voters about not using their phones and this should be implemented by poll workers.
Additionally, LADE said many party delegates violated the secret ballot by going behind the voting booth and observing the voting process.